mClass Assessments
Understanding mClass
As part of reading initiatives in the state, Wake County has purchased the mClass: 3D reading assessment program. This program measures the development of reading skills in K-5 students. The program assesses the development of these schools through two main assessments: Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) and The Reading Comprehension (TRC) assessments. These combined tests measure multiple important reading skills that children must develop to become proficient readers. These skills are:
-Hearing and using sounds in spoken words and language (phonemic awareness)
-Knowing the sounds of letters and being able to sound these sounds out correctly when reading words (alphabetic principle)
-Recognizing and reading words easily, correctly, and quickly
-Reading with comprehension (this is the ultimate goal of reading)
-Understanding and using a variety of words, and learning new words
Teachers gather this data by administering the TRC and DIBELS assessments. This assessments are administered individually. The gathered data is then imputed into the mClass program and calculates scores and levels of proficiency based on the data provided. The program disaggregates the data, provides individualized assessment information about each student’s reading progress, and tracks the student’s progress during the school year. Tracking the progress of student's is called "progress monitoring."
For more information on the mClass program, please see the brochure below.
-Hearing and using sounds in spoken words and language (phonemic awareness)
-Knowing the sounds of letters and being able to sound these sounds out correctly when reading words (alphabetic principle)
-Recognizing and reading words easily, correctly, and quickly
-Reading with comprehension (this is the ultimate goal of reading)
-Understanding and using a variety of words, and learning new words
Teachers gather this data by administering the TRC and DIBELS assessments. This assessments are administered individually. The gathered data is then imputed into the mClass program and calculates scores and levels of proficiency based on the data provided. The program disaggregates the data, provides individualized assessment information about each student’s reading progress, and tracks the student’s progress during the school year. Tracking the progress of student's is called "progress monitoring."
For more information on the mClass program, please see the brochure below.
mclass_reading_3d_brochure.pdf | |
File Size: | 730 kb |
File Type: |
Individual mClass Tests - DIBELS
The DIBELS assessment is an umbrella name for many smaller tests. These smaller tests are administered either at the beginning of the year (BOY) middle of the year (MOY) or at the end of the year (EOY). The program takes the scores from these tests under the DIBELS name and calculates/determines proficiency on the specific skills that were test. There are four main tests that factor into DIBELS. Two of the tests (NWF and DORF) measure more than one skill [these are shown indented underneath the test name in italics]. The DIBELS assessments include:
Letter Naming Fluency (LNF)
Phonemic Sounding Fluency (PSF)
Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF)
-Calling Letter Sounds (CLS)
-Whole Words Read (WWR)
Dynamic Oral Reading Fluency (DORF)
-DORF Accuracy
-DORF Fluency
-DORF Retell and Retell Quality
Letter Naming Fluency (LNF)
Phonemic Sounding Fluency (PSF)
Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF)
-Calling Letter Sounds (CLS)
-Whole Words Read (WWR)
Dynamic Oral Reading Fluency (DORF)
-DORF Accuracy
-DORF Fluency
-DORF Retell and Retell Quality
Letter Naming Fluency (LNF) - Students are asked to read lowercase and capital letters of alphabet in random order. This assessment is timed and proficiency is determined based on the number of letters identified correctly in one minute.
Red boxed letters mean the wrong letter name was said. A green box with an sc in the corner means that the student self-corrected their mistake. They may have said "k" and then realized they made a mistake and then said "x." The grey line means that the whole line was skipped. It is important that students follow along with their pointer finger when they read. This helps them to keep their place, not miss a word, and also helps improve fluency. The blue bracket indicates the last letter read before the timer was up.
Red boxed letters mean the wrong letter name was said. A green box with an sc in the corner means that the student self-corrected their mistake. They may have said "k" and then realized they made a mistake and then said "x." The grey line means that the whole line was skipped. It is important that students follow along with their pointer finger when they read. This helps them to keep their place, not miss a word, and also helps improve fluency. The blue bracket indicates the last letter read before the timer was up.
Phonemic Sounding Fluency (PSF) - Students are asked to say the appropriate sound of the letter. This assessment is timed and proficiency is determined based on the number of sounds correctly said in one minute.
Sounds that are blended (two or more sounds that are said/pronounced as one) are marked as one sound. An example of this is shown in the picture. This student blended the sound /m/ and /ie/ therefore, the blue line underneath the sounds combined the /m/ and /ie/ sounds tellng the program that these two sounds were read as one. An individual line under an individual sound means that the student read the one sound as a single sound. The green box with the sc in the corner means the student "self-corrected." They may have said a different sound, but quickly caught their mistake, and corrected their mistake out loud.
Sounds that are blended (two or more sounds that are said/pronounced as one) are marked as one sound. An example of this is shown in the picture. This student blended the sound /m/ and /ie/ therefore, the blue line underneath the sounds combined the /m/ and /ie/ sounds tellng the program that these two sounds were read as one. An individual line under an individual sound means that the student read the one sound as a single sound. The green box with the sc in the corner means the student "self-corrected." They may have said a different sound, but quickly caught their mistake, and corrected their mistake out loud.
Non-sense Word Fluency (NWF) - Students are given a list of "non-sense" or "silly" words to read. They are told if they can't read the whole word, they should say any sound they know. The sounds are recorded under CLS and any whole words that the student is able to read are counted under the WWR. This assessment is also timed and students are given one minute. The students have three seconds to identify and say the sound/word. If students are able to read the whole word for all of the words they get to, the program still gives them credit for the three sounds that were used to make-up the word. In a sense, students are rewarded for saying the whole word without having to sound out each individual sound first. For a whole word read, students get one point in WWR and three points in CLS (one point for each correct sound and there are always three sounds). The non-sense words are consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words that always have short vowels sounds in the middle.
Individual mClass Tests - TRC
The TRC assessment measures reading comprehension. This assessment measures reading comprehension through a few different activities or portions of the assessment. The child is first told the title of the book and a general statement is read to the student stating what the book is about; sometimes providing character names. The student is then prompted to look through the pictures in the book. Next, the student reads the book to the teacher. While the student reads the book, the teacher (or test administrator) follows along on the ipad in the mClass app. Any mistakes that are made are coded using the app on the ipad. Mistakes include substituting a different word, pronouncing the word incorrectly, not knowing the word, only saying a portion of the word, or skipping over a word and not reading it, just to name a few.
After the student reads the story they are asked to answer five oral comprehension questions. These questions usually require students to make predictions, summarize the beginning, middle or end of the story, clarify which character was associated with a specific action, and give an opinion as to why a certain event happened in the story (this should show reasoning and interpretation.
The last piece in the TRC is the written comprehension (only for levels F-Z). Depending on the level of the book, students are asked a written comprehension questions. Students are allowed to use the book to help them answer the questions. They may go back to the text and look for the answer or locate details from the text that can further support their answer. The comprehension questions are graded using a 0-3 rating scale based on the answers provided in the mClass assessment manual. Students must pass the written comprehension in order to be considered proficient and in order to move to the next reading level. Just because a student can read a book fluently with high accuracy, does not mean that the students are understanding what they are reading. MCLass not only looks for oral comprehension but also requires written comprehension. This is true for all grade levels (K-5). When students have been able to read a text fluently with high accuracy but have not passed the written comprehension, it is usually because of any or all of the following reasons: proper sentence structure, capital letters, proper punctuation, re-words the question in the answer, uses specific details/information from the text to support their answer (proof).
After the student reads the story they are asked to answer five oral comprehension questions. These questions usually require students to make predictions, summarize the beginning, middle or end of the story, clarify which character was associated with a specific action, and give an opinion as to why a certain event happened in the story (this should show reasoning and interpretation.
The last piece in the TRC is the written comprehension (only for levels F-Z). Depending on the level of the book, students are asked a written comprehension questions. Students are allowed to use the book to help them answer the questions. They may go back to the text and look for the answer or locate details from the text that can further support their answer. The comprehension questions are graded using a 0-3 rating scale based on the answers provided in the mClass assessment manual. Students must pass the written comprehension in order to be considered proficient and in order to move to the next reading level. Just because a student can read a book fluently with high accuracy, does not mean that the students are understanding what they are reading. MCLass not only looks for oral comprehension but also requires written comprehension. This is true for all grade levels (K-5). When students have been able to read a text fluently with high accuracy but have not passed the written comprehension, it is usually because of any or all of the following reasons: proper sentence structure, capital letters, proper punctuation, re-words the question in the answer, uses specific details/information from the text to support their answer (proof).
Timeline for mClass Assessments
Beginning Of Year (BOY)
|
Middle Of Year (MOY)
|
End of Year (EOY)
|
Home Connect mClass Letters
Home connect letters are sent home at BOY, MOY, and EOY. These letters help to explain where your student is, what their needs are, and what strengths they have. The letter is two pages. The second page provides activities that your student would benefit from doing at home on a regular basis. The scores are indicated by the running child. The placement of the running child indicates where your student is, and the level of support they require. The green section means your child is on grade level/proficient for that particular skill/category. The yellow section means your child is below grade level and did not meet proficiency. This means they need more support than the regular instruction and small group sessions provide. The red sections indicates a very strong need. This section means that your student is far below grade level and proficiency and is struggling. The blue section (not shown in the picture, but is shown on your child's home connect letter) indicates that your student is above grade level based on their TRC reading comprehension. This blue section only exists for the TRC reading comprehension part.
Comparison Data (BOY-MOY)
This page contains your child's data throughout the year. From BOY to MOY and MOY to EOY your should see growth in the development of your child's reading skills. The overall colored bubble/circle directly under BOY, MOY, and EOY indicates their proficiency on DIBELS (combination of all assessments that are included under the DIBELS "umbrella." The color of their TRC level indicates their proficiency in reading comprehension (accuracy, fluency, oral comprehension and written comprehension). The colors are associated with proficiency levels:
Red - far below proficient (severe risk for retention)
Yellow - below proficient (at some risk for retention)
Green - on grade level and is proficient (not at risk for retention)
Blue - above grade level and is proficient (not at risk for retention)
Red - far below proficient (severe risk for retention)
Yellow - below proficient (at some risk for retention)
Green - on grade level and is proficient (not at risk for retention)
Blue - above grade level and is proficient (not at risk for retention)
Benchmark Goals
Use the chart below to help gauge how close to grade level your student scored on the beginning of year assessment and the middle of the year assessment. The levels listed are mClass goals for 1st grade students for beginning of year (BOY) middle of year (MOY) and end of year (EOY). These goals align with Wake County standards, are Wake County approved, and also align with Wake County benchmark proficiency guidelines.
Beginning Of Year
Level D
|
Middle Of Year
Level G
|
End Of Year
Level J
|